A Goodbye Get Together!

i actually had planned on doing this post two days ago, but we had a minor set back. see, i was sitting at the computer fixing the photo's i had taken at the party and getting ready to upload them, when my sister (who was still staying with us) said "stacy, there's a bat in your house" in this really freaked out voice. sure enough, as i got up to check it out, it came flying into the playroom (where the computer is), so i ducked. every time i went to get up, it would dive bomb my head so i would scrunch down real low again. it did this several time to me and my sister. if you are not laughing right now, use your imagination, because (in hindsight), it was very funny. so, anyway, hubby was still at work, so my sister called our dad to come over. in the meantime, i grabbed a broom and went on a hunt. we knew he had gone upstairs (where we sleep), but he was no where to be found. he hasn't been seen for the past couple of days so we assume he got out where he came in. i am on high alert every time it gets dark now though.

go back to earlier that day, right before we left for the cookout, i got a call from the garage saying that hubby's car was fixed. i went to pick him up at work and drove him to the garage to pick it up. it costs $180 to get it fixed, that's it! i was so excited. he does get a discount because it is the cheif of the volunteer fire department where doug is a firefighter that fixes it. so, he has his car back now, and it seems to be doing well. some people have asked why i laugh when i tell the story about his car cathing on fire. well, it's either laugh or cry, and i find the whole thing quit funny. how ironic that the car that catches on fire belongs to a firefighter who has ALL of his fire gear in the trunk, but doesn't have a fire extinguisher. a passer by called the local fire department (not doug's) and it gets called in as a FULLY involved fire, so the whole firestation shows up at 11:30 pm. anyway, it's over now, but i do think it was pretty funny now!

so, on to the cookout. my cousin, josh, is going into the army, so his parents decided to throw him a going away party. it was a last minute thing, but it was fun. i got some good pictures of him and some of the other family. he left yesterday and the party was on tuesday. i was able to send the pictures from my computer to walmarts photo lab and have his parents pick them up and put them in a album for him to take with him. his mom said he was happy to have pictures of his family to take with him. here are a few, and then the rest are in the slideshow:

Josh and his parents

Josh and his brother Jeremy (only two kids in their family)

our grammy and josh
kaylee, great grammy keene, and kelsey
with all 4 kids

kelsey (L) and kaylee (R) reverting back to their baby days. they used to fit so much better!

now, i have to share a pet peeve of mine. i HATE when people i do not know try to tell me what my kids should and shouldn't be doing, excluding their doctors of course. how many of you let your older kids (mine is 5) ride on the back of the cart while you are grocery shopping? there is one lady in walmart (a worker) that for the past couple of times i have been in there, will tell me that "your son cannot ride on the back of the cart". ok, this irritates me. no, actually it makes me REALLY furious. i went shopping by myself last night with all 4 kids. i let jordan ride on the back of the cart, because it is much easier to keep an eye on him when he is right there in front of me. toya pushes the double stroller and i take jordan and the cart. it's either that or have him walking which leads to wandering. i've heard them call for "code adam" too many times to want that to happen to my child. as soon as we walk into the store, that is the first thing she says to me (like she is talking to a 5 yr. old). i finally had enough and replied "he is MY child". she didn't say anything. to top it off, she had given all the kids stickers except jordan. jordan realized it and went back to get one, so toya tried to give him hers (as she doesn't like them anymore) and this stupid lady PUSHES latoya's hand away and says "NO, i'll give him one". excuse me, don't touch my child!!!! i was going to look at her name tag when we left but she was gone. next time i am getting her name and putting in a complaint. to me, this is RIDICULIUS!!!! maybe i am just over reacting, what do you think?

last but not least, my mom has started a blog as well. please check it out and comment her. because my sister and her hubby are having their first child and they live in n.c., she is looking for tips for how to be a long distance grammy. any ideas?? please leave any suggestions on her blog http://proudgrandparentsoffour1tocome.blogspot.com/. My sister has put pictures of the baby's nursery on her blog as well. Have a great week!